“I’D RATHER FOCUS on the fruit of your body right now.”
Jammer couldn’t get enough of Gina, her blue eyes wide with the same anticipation he felt thrumming through his veins. Her eagerness fueled his and he loved watching her come.
He’d have to absorb as much as he could of their time together, for too soon it would come to an end.
Once he screwed over Fuentes, the drug lord wouldn’t soon forgive or forget who had taken him down. Even from prison, Fuentes would wield the power to kill Jammer and anyone involved with him.
He would need to disappear and assume another identity, and he couldn’t take the risk of dragging Gina into that scenario. Not when he’d been responsible for so many bodies already. He couldn’t bear having her death on his conscience, as well.
But he wouldn’t think about that now. Now was the time to make some memories that would last him a lifetime.
The scent of her mingled with the aroma of fermented cherries like an aphrodisiac, rich and thick with sensual promise, tantalizing and seducing him even further.
As he’d demonstrated before, he wasn’t one to rush a good thing…especially when it came to sex. He liked to savor the seduction, enjoy the slow, arousing buildup of hot I-have-to-have-you-now kind of foreplay, make all the spine-tingling sexual tension last, so when they finally came together there would be no forgetting what sex with him was like.
“Hmm, on second thought…” He flashed her a wicked grin as an idea formed in his mind. “Maybe we can do both at the same time.”
“Oooh, I like the sound of that,” she said, her eyes flickering with interest and excitement.
He skimmed his fingers along the curve of her waist and watched as her nipples peaked against her top. Her natural response to his touch caused his own body to tighten in places, too. “Are you feeling daring and adventurous?”
She laughed breathlessly. “Absolutely. Bring it on.”
“You ever done body shots?”
“No, but I know what they are. What did you have in mind?”
“Why don’t we play it by ear,” he said, his lips dipping to hers again. Burying his hands in her hair, he moved his mouth over hers, slow and languid, his teeth nipping at her plump bottom lip. Then he slid his tongue inside, and she met every hot, moist sweep of his tongue with her own. She tasted like spice and sweet cherries as fine and appetizing as the brandy.
He used his mouth to seduce and tease. Pulling away, he kept his lips just out of reach of hers, taunting her. But Gina wasn’t a passive woman. She caught him behind his nape and pulled his mouth back to hers.
He laughed softly against her lips, accepting that he would never forget this woman. The thought of being without her made him press his mouth harder, the need inside driving him.
He lifted her and eased her against his groin. The heat between them flared and they both groaned.
He trailed his fingers up her quivering thighs to the crux of her sex, where he could feel the dampness, and he guessed she wasn’t wearing panties under her tight, hip-hugging shorts. He smoothed his palms over the curve of her buttocks, then leaned over her, holding her heavy-lidded gaze as he pulled the white peasant top off her in one smooth stroke, baring her upper body to his hungry gaze.
He brushed his fingers over the swells of her breasts, and her breathing deepened in anticipation as he dragged the stretchy, sheer cups of her bra down, releasing those two full, perfectly shaped mounds of flesh. Her nipples puckered, tightening into hard beads that looked as delicious as two cherries.
She curled her hand around the nape of his neck and drew his head downward. “Put your mouth on me,” she urged huskily. “Please.”
He pulled back slightly as she thrust her body toward him. Reaching into the colander, he grabbed a few cherries and crushed them, releasing the juices locked inside. Then he smeared his fingers over each of her nipples and heard her suck in a breath.
He gently grazed a nipple with his teeth and another gasp escaped her. The taste of hot woman and sweet cherries burst on his tongue when he laved her searing, juicy breasts.
“Mmm,” he murmured. “Sugar and spice and everything nice.”
And finally, a long-drawn-out moan sounded when he took her deep into his mouth and suckled hungrily on her soft flesh, cleaning up as much of the juice and crushed cherries as he could.
Her fingers raked through his hair as he gave the other breast equal attention, until she was writhing beneath him and panting in that needy way he recognized all too well. He blazed fiery, moist kisses up to her throat and along her jaw as he moved over her and settled his hips against hers. He pressed his solid erection—still confined behind the fly of his cutoffs—against the crotch of her shorts, exactly where he knew she’d need that firm, driving pressure the most.
He watched her eyes darken with desire, and could feel the heat and dampness of her through the heavy denim. Jammer did his best to keep his focus on her and away from the demanding ache in his cock.
Lowering his head, he kissed her, while moving against her in a slow, sensual motion that was as intimate as the act of sex itself.
Her hands caressed and kneaded his shoulders. She glided her palms over his taut belly and around to his back, where she kneaded her fingers into the muscles in an attempt to urge him to a faster tempo. Wrapping her legs around his thighs, she grabbed his ass so she could control the depth and pace of his strokes.
He wrenched his mouth from hers and managed a laugh. “Damn, maybe patience is overrated.”
“Exactly,” she said, her breathing hard and rasping.
“You’ll have to find a little bit more patience, sweetheart,” he said as he curled his arm around her waist, lifted her and stripped the tight shorts off her body. He also removed the lacy bra, so that she was completely naked on the wooden table.
“No fair. You’re still dressed.”
“Don’t worry about that right now,” he said softly. With his palm on her chest he leaned her back until she was resting against the wall. Then he grasped her just under the knees and pushed her legs apart until she was bared to him.
“Oh damn, Jammer. I want you.”
“Soon. Very soon, baby.”
He grabbed more cherries and crushed them, then rubbed his fingers over her clit. Gina cried out, but he didn’t give her a moment to catch her breath. His mouth captured her clit with suctioning pulls and swirls of his tongue, and she came with quick thrusts of her hips.
His restraint finally broken, Jammer undid his cutoffs and let them and his briefs drop to the floor.
When he moved back to the table, she was waiting. Her hand snaked out, captured his throbbing cock and guided him to her. He needed no encouragement as he slipped inside her, the juice from the cherries sliding along his shaft with a tingling, sensual burn.
The heat of her sex scorched him. Made him move with deep, slow thrusts inside her.
Then she tensed and quickened, captivated as she reached between them to feel him glide wetly into her, then retreat. Her touch was heavy and bold, and he loved this side of her. Most of the time she was out there for everyone to see, but this Gina, this intimate Gina, was all his.
Jammer wanted more, to connect when he hadn’t—wouldn’t—allow himself to have anything beyond casual and quick sex. Playing it safe had become ingrained in him for three long years. Then she’d opened that door in Paris and he would never be the same. Casual and Gina just didn’t mesh.
But he and Gina did.
In a profound and primal way that he hadn’t thought possible.
He knew that every moment he spent with her would only make it that much harder to separate when the time came. His chest and throat constricted at the thought, so he pushed it aside and focused on the incredible sensations she was generating with her sleek, sexy body.
“Jammer, please,” she begged softly.
His control severed and his hips plunged faster into the tight core of her. She wrapped her legs around him, squeezing hard and holding on to him as if she would never let go.
He deepened his thrusts, his possession raw and savage. Matching his rhythm, she finally came, holding nothing back and whispering her satisfaction. One more flex of thick muscle and his own climax roared over him, joining hers. And she felt it, accepted the power of him, the brutal honesty of the moment.
Jammer threw his head back, caught, the wild grip of her flesh wringing him. Splintered rapture shredded his composure. Yet in the throes of release, he was aware of her smooth skin, the scent that was quintessentially Gina, the soft gasp as she absorbed the pleasure he was giving her. “Damn, Gina,” he murmured, slipping his arms around her, the last threads of passion dissolving under a slow, thick kiss.
Seconds passed as they held each other. Darkness had fallen outside the window and the rumble of Gina’s stomach broke the silence.
He chuckled and let her go. “Sounds like you need some food.”
“I’m starving. Those cherries made me a little tipsy on an empty stomach.”
“Let’s quickly finish this bottling and we’ll head into the house. I’ll make you a meal.”
She looked at him with one eyebrow cocked. “Oh my God, don’t tell me you cook.”
“I do.”
“If you also iron, I’m going to keep you.”
He laughed and felt that same constriction in his chest. He told himself it wasn’t possible. He dressed quickly, handing Gina her clothes, then made quick work of bottling the brandy, stoppering it and setting it on a shelf with the others to receive the special Craving Brandy label.
Holding hands, they left the shed and walked to the house. Gina stopped suddenly and said, “Wow, check out the stars. The night sky is gorgeous.”
Jammer looked up and took in the beauty of the smudged blue sky dotted with lights. She was right.
“Let’s eat outside. It’s so pretty,” she exclaimed.
“No problem. There’s a patio by the kitchen door that overlooks the pool and the vineyards.”
“Sounds simply wonderful.”
They entered the house and headed upstairs, where they took a quick shower that soon got out of hand. Once again Gina’s stomach rumbling sent them back on course. Sitting at the island, she flipped open her cell phone. “Let me make some calls and see if I can put something together while you cook.”
He nodded and went to the fridge, pulling out what he needed. He set water to boil and when it was ready added lasagna noodles.
He started off with olive oil in a pan, followed by onions, mushrooms, garlic, basil, chicken broth and cornstarch. Once it was simmering, he added cream cheese, stirring slowly as it melted, releasing mouthwatering aromas.
“That smells heavenly. Is it going to be ready soon?”
“Nope. Got to layer it together and put it in the oven. You’re going to have to pull that patience out again.”
“Well, hurry it up.”
Jammer added sour cream, artichokes and crab meat into the pan, seasoning with salt and pepper. Next, he spread some of the mixture along each lasagna noodle, rolled it up and set it in a shallow casserole. When the dish was full, he covered it with foil and popped it into the oven, setting the timer.
“Let’s go outside until it’s done. Enjoy the night,” he said as he opened the French doors and stepped out. The patio was tiered, gently sloping down to a sparkling turquoise pool. He walked to the second tier and settled into a chaise longue and pulled Gina into his lap. She curled against him, snuggling her head under his chin.
“So where did you learn to cook?” she asked.
“My mother taught me.” He lifted a hand and stroked it over her hair. His heart constricted at the thought of his mother.
“Oh,” Gina said, a cautious tone to her voice.
She knew as well as he that they were getting into personal territory, and he wasn’t sure that they should.
“Are they still alive?”
“No, they aren’t. It’s better that they’re not,” he said, then regretted the words.
“Because of what you do for a living?”
He shrugged, as if it was unimportant, when it was far from that. “Yeah,” he answered, but that wasn’t the truth at all. It had to do with the pain and agony they would have had to endure, knowing they had lost their only son. He wouldn’t have been able to participate in this plan to take down Fuentes if they had lived.
“Any luck with your contacts?” he asked, effectively changing the painful subject.
“Yes, I think so. I’m waiting for a couple of calls. A guy in Rome who I think will have some of what you need—namely the surface-to-air missiles—and I have a guy in London who should be able to deliver on the other required items.”
“Excellent. Fuentes will be calling tomorrow for an update on his order. It’d be good to be able to tell him we’re moving forward.”
“What is he like?”
“Fuentes? A freaking little girl in a grown man’s body. When he doesn’t get his way, he has these tantrums that are ridiculous to watch. How he ever built an empire is a mystery to me.”
“Do you think there will be a possibility of more deals once you’ve supplied what he’s asking for?”
Not if Jammer had any say in the matter. But he had a role to play here and he knew how to play it well. “Of course. Drug dealers always need weapons for the movement of their product. It’s a fact of life.”
“Will the Ghost be at the meeting with Fuentes?”
“Yes, he’s going to make a rare appearance. Fuentes wants the transfer to happen in person. So my boss is committed.” The Ghost would be there, all right, but Fuentes wasn’t going to see it coming, and that gave Jammer great satisfaction.
“How about you let me go all the way on this deal? I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Gina, Fuentes is an animal and I don’t trust him at all. I think it would be best if you stayed out of it.”
“Jammer, come on. I could make some really good contacts and boost my business. You wouldn’t deny me that, would you? Look at all the help I’m giving you. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have been able to fill Fuentes’s order.”
“That is true. I would have been royally fucked.”
“Right, and not in a good way.”
“Let me think about it.”
“I’m not a fragile piece of glass, you know. I can take care of myself in this business. Miyagi caught me off guard, but it won’t happen again.”
Jammer cupped her face and met her blue eyes. “That threat has been neutralized. I made sure of it. I will do anything for you, Gina, but have a care when it comes to Fuentes. He’s ruthless and heartless. He doesn’t have any concern for human life. He takes it without impunity.”
“Sounds like you have firsthand knowledge.”
Jammer let her go and turned away. “I do, and that’s not something I will discuss.”
This time she took his face in her hands. “Did you lose people close to you at the hands of Fuentes?”
The guilt twisted like a knife inside him, and he squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. He tried to pull away but she wouldn’t go. He sighed. “Don’t ask me any more questions about Fuentes. It’s time to check on dinner.”
He felt her gaze on him, but ignored her, capturing her around the waist and setting her on her feet.
He could sense the tension in the air around him, snapping with electricity. When she touched his arm, he jolted as if he had received a shock.
“I’m very, very sorry.”
“It was my fault,” he whispered, the anguish almost palpable.
Without another word, she followed him into the house.
The smell in the kitchen made his mouth water. There were only five minutes left on the timer, so he grabbed two plates, trying to let what had happened outside slide off him as he’d done in the past. He wished she hadn’t been there to witness his weak moment, but her sympathy had touched him in a place so deep he’d thought it was out of reach.
He placed rolls on each plate and quickly put together the ingredients for a salad.
When the timer went off he served the salad and then remembered the wine.
“Let me go down and get a bottle.”
“In the dungeon?” she said in a comical stage whisper.
He chuckled. “Yes, want to come with me?”
“Oh, most definitely.”
The stairs to the wine cellar were cut stone, as were the walls. At the bottom were rows and rows of wine, some of it his as well as other vintage bottles he’d picked up here and there.
In the corner sat an old-fashioned rack. A mock Scottish castle had to have a dungeon and the requisite torture device, even if it was nothing but a prop.
“Oh no, this looks…dangerous.”
“It’s for show, but it’s got restraints and it does work.”
“Have you ever used it on your victims?”
He laughed. “No,” he said, and slapped her on the ass. “But there’s a first time for everything.”
“Oooh, you could be the evil overlord and I’ll be your captured noblewoman who won’t sell you the land you covet. You have to torture me to get me to submit.”
“Hmm, that has potential. But I can think of better torture than stretching your joints until they feel like they’re going to pull apart.”
“I bet you can.”
“Come on, let’s get the wine. Our dinner’s cooling and I’m starving.”
Gina shot one more glance at the rack and followed him as he chose a white to compliment the crab.
Back upstairs, they went outside to enjoy their dinner. The conversation revolved around business and the ins and outs of gunrunning, including the many pitfalls of federal intervention.
When Gina went to pour more wine, the bottle was empty. They both went down to the cellar for another, but she got too close to Jammer at the bottom, brushing by him, inflaming him.
After her shower she had changed into a daisy-flowered miniskirt and a gauzy yellow top that showed a purple bra beneath.
Unable to help himself, he came up behind her and encircled her waist. Slipping his hands underneath the material, he said softly, in a perfect Scottish accent, “Milady, you will consent to sell me your land when I am through with you.”
Gina laughed softly and gasped as his hands cupped her breasts.
“You canna make me do something against my will. I will defy you at every turn.”
He kissed her neck, his mouth trailing up to the delicate shell of her ear, where he whispered, “You will agree to that and more.”
He started to undress her, and Gina pretended to fight him, turning to face him and pummeling his chest with her tiny fists. But he lifted her bodily and laid her on the rack, shackling her loosely.
Then he removed his clothing and walked over to get another bottle of wine, this time choosing champagne.
He returned to the rack and looked down at her. She might be the one constrained, but he was the one helpless. She was so fucking beautiful, exquisitely so, her agile, graceful body stretched out and completely under his power.
After trailing the neck of the bottle from her rapidly beating pulse point down to her high, firm breasts, he replaced the bottle with his own lips, quickly sucking each nipple into his mouth with a tug and a rake of his teeth, drawing a swift, hard gasp and an uncontrollable arch of her body.
“I want to sip you like this champagne.”
“Use me to quench whatever thirst you have,” she said, her gaze demanding he do his worst—or his best.
“I don’t know if anything will quench my thirst for you,” he admitted, and that would be true for the rest of his life—with or without her in it.
With the champagne still in his hand, he straddled her hips. Smiling with lascivious intent, he looked at the bottle, then down at her. “Let’s see if we can put this to good use.”
“Oh, if only you had the end of a mustache to twist, this would be perfect.”
He laughed out loud.
He opened the champagne, the cork popping loudly in the room.
“A good sound. Should be nice and bubbly,” she said.
He took a long pull of the clear, sweet wine, which got his taste buds tingling. Taking more into his mouth, he leaned down and kissed her, releasing the wine into her mouth for her to savor and swallow. He could taste the mingling of her luscious essence and the sweet nectar of the champagne, a heady aphrodisiac that made his whole body tense in sensual need. But he had other places to explore on her than her sumptuous lips.
He released her, but she wasn’t quite ready to let him go. The restraints of the rack stopped her from reaching for him, however. “Jammer,” she moaned feverishly.
“There are other things to taste,” he said softly, tipping the bottle up until the golden liquid splashed onto one cherry-sweet nipple. It budded immediately into a hard, mouthwatering peak and Gina cried out. The chilled liquid against her hot skin produced another strangled moan when he splashed the other turgid bud. The wine ran in rivulets off the globes of her breasts, slid sensuously down the taut line of her stomach and pooled in her belly button.
She shuddered more from the sensation, he was sure, than the temperature of the wine. “You’re getting me all wet!”
“Wet and wild for me.”
“Oh, yes. Oh, hell yes!”
“It’s great when a plan comes together.” Laughing softly, he dipped his head and hovered over her wet and tantalizing breast, blowing a burning-hot breath against her sensitized nipple. She rolled her body in sensual abandon, her hands pulling at the restraints. “You teasing bastard.”
She lifted her chest, straining for his mouth, and his cock tightened so hard he groaned. He’d never been this close to orgasm with a woman without her actually touching him.
Then he deliberately flicked his tongue across her nipple, the taste of her and the wine like a burst of electricity on his tongue. With an uncontrollable moan, he sucked her nipple into his mouth with a rough, strong pull. He worked it until she was writhing and thrashing, until every drop of the delectable wine was removed. Then he switched to her other one, taking her deep—deep enough that he could devour her.
Setting aside the bottle for a moment, he ran his tongue down to where her body cupped the wine. He lapped it up while he skimmed his fingers down her quivering belly to the top of her groin. Splaying his hands, he pushed her legs open to reveal to his hungry eyes the core of her sex. He ran his thumbs along her glistening folds, enjoying her intense moan and delectable shiver.
She was gloriously wet and about to get wetter.
He grabbed the bottle and ran the smooth glass neck along her mound and down to her hot pulsing center. She jerked in response. With deliberate slowness and care, he slipped the mouth of the bottle into her, then said huskily, “Arch for me.”
When her hips moved, the champagne tipped and liquid rushed out, soaking her sex with the cool bubbly and sparkling froth.
His mouth clamped on to her and he tormented her with his tongue and mouth, licking, sucking at her sensitive flesh over and over again.
“Oh, damn,” she moaned, and the automatic movement of her pelvis tipped the bottle once more. She gasped as more champagne poured out. Jammer caught the wine and her, drinking both in.
Her breath came in little puffs of pleasure, her body writhing beneath his ministrations as her orgasm rushed toward her. He could feel it crest and beat against his mouth as the champagne splashed with her frantic movements. His body aching for her, he glided two fingers inside her, at the same time sucking her clit hard, then laving her with his tongue. She pulsed against his mouth, her hips jerking and arching as she cried out, her body bowing up from the rack and tugging at the restraints as her climax exploded.
Captured by the sheer beauty of Gina’s luminous pleasure, he let the almost-empty bottle go. His rock-hard cock throbbed in unison with her orgasm as he moved up her body and thrust into her as deeply as he could, the pleasure overtaking him, shredding his control. Her inner muscles contracted around him as he plunged into her without restraint.
He drove into her rough and fast, his pleasure building and tearing along his cock with blinding need. When his release burst over him, he lost everything that he was—his heart, his body and his soul—to her.